Real Madrid will reportedly look to sign 17-year-old German wonderkid Youssoufa Moukoko from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Defensa Central, Youssoufa Moukoko is the subject of interest from Real Madrid over a possible Bosman move in the 2023 summer transfer window. The Borussia Dortmund prodigy has entered the final year of his contract with the Bundesliga club.
Youssoufa Moukoko is one of the most highly-rated attacking prospects in Europe, with the German under-21 international going from strength to strength in age-group football in the last few years. The teenage prodigy, with his exploits, prompted the Bundesliga to alter a long-standing rule to allow him to make an early first-team debut for Borussia Dortmund.
But the 17-year-old is yet to become a regular in the first-team squad at the Signal Iduna Park, partly due to Erling Haaland’s presence last season. But Moukoko barely started games even when Haaland was unavailable, managing only 482 minutes of game-time across 24 outings. And his situation has not gone unnoticed, with Real Madrid setting sights on him.
The interest from Real Madrid stems from the advancing years of Karim Benzema. While the French striker has been on a roll in the last few years, it is worth noting that he is well into his thirties. Real Madrid will thus need to lay down a succession plan for Benzema by signing a promising young striker.
Moukoko has thus emerged as a viable target as he can learn the ropes from Benzema before taking over as the new first-choice striker in a few years. With Carlo Ancelotti recently reaffirming that the Merengues do not want to sign another player this summer, considering a Bosman move for the 17-year-old Borussia Dortmund wonderkid fall within their plans.
Recent reports have claimed that Moukoko will likely remain at the Bundesliga club for the 2022/23 season. But with the teenage prodigy in the final year of his contract with Borussia Dortmund, a Bosman move might see the light of day.
It will be interesting to see how Moukoko’s contract situation evolves in the coming weeks and months. Real Madrid will likely look to secure him to a pre-contract agreement if he still has not signed a new contract with Dortmund by January.